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Well disinfectant chemicals & their properties: this article describes the properties of three most common disinfectants used to shock or sanitize a water well: chlorine (common household bleach), chloramine, and chlorine dioxide.

Page top sketch illustrating both deep and shallow water well construction and depths is provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates.

Watch out: Drinking small amounts of hypochlorite solution (less than a cup) can produce irritation of the esophagus.

Drinking concentrated hypochlorite solution can produce severe damage to the upper digestive tract and even death. These effects are most likely caused by the caustic nature of the hypochlorite solution and not from exposure to molecular chlorine.

Spilling hypochlorite solution on the skin can produce irritation. The severity of the effects depends on the concentration of sodium hypochlorite in the bleach.

Adapted from
clorox.com

For emergency disinfection of drinking water (his is NOT the same thing as disinfecting a well) add 8 drops of Clorox bleach to a gallon of clear water, (or just two drops to a quart) and let the solution stand for at least 15 minutes (a very slight "bleach" odor should remain.

If there is no bleach odor the water may not be adequately disinfected.

The above information is adapted from US EPA, Water: Basic Information about Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants, retrieved 8/27/2013, original source water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/disinfectants.cfm [1]
and from information provided by clorox.com

Watch out: The US EPA recommends that you test your water every year for total
coliform bacteria, nitrates, total
dissolved solids, and pH levels.

If a review of local well water contaminants found by local testing labs, your local health department, or other information about your particular property suggests that there is a risk of other chemical contaminants (such as agricultural chemicals, pesticides, or local chemical spills or dumps) then you should include a test for these contaminants as well.

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[2a]Thanks to reader Jerry Highsmith for discussing well shocking procedures where a water filter or water softener are installed - August 2010

[3] "Bacteria in Drinking Water" - "Chlorine," Karen Mancl, water quality specialist, Agricultural Engineering, Ohio State University Extension. Mancl explains factors affecting the effectiveness of chlorine in water as a means to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. OSU reports as follows:

Chlorine kills bacteria, including disease-causing organisms and the nuisance organism, iron bacteria. However, low levels of chlorine, normally used to disinfect water, are not an effective treatment for giardia cysts. A chlorine level of over 10 mg/1 must be maintained for at least 30 minutes to kill giardia cysts. -- http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/index.html is the front page of this bulletin.

Ohio State University article on the concentration of chlorine necessary to act as an effective disinfectant, and the effects of the water's pH and temperature: See http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/b795_7.html for details.

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Wikipedia provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.

Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.

Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.

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